Valerie holds up a very colorfully decorated piece of paper. “It looks like the rally girls are having a post-game party Friday night.”
“But we always go to IHOP after the games,” Jewel says.
Valerie nods. “Yes, we do. It sounds like the rally girls are trying to compete with our tradition.”
“Wait, don't the rally girls always have post-game parties?” I ask.
Kelani replies, “Yes, during basketball season. Football season belongs to the Hi-Steppers.”
“Why would they want to challenge us?” asks Candy.
Valerie balls the flyer up and throws it into the trash can. “There's only one person who would want to wreck our flow.”
“Who?” asks Jewel.
“Think about it,” Valerie says. “Who wanted so badly to be a Hi-Stepper that she had us looking foolish on the field? Who quit the squad because she didn't want to sit on the bench? Who joined the rally girls this year, because the Hi-Steppers didn't want her back?”
I roll my eyes and sigh. Clearly, Valerie is speaking about Hope. If Hope is behind any of this, I've got a suspicion that it has nothing to do with getting revenge on the Hi-Steppers, but everything to do with a certain football player crush.
Kelani squeals, “Ooh, Candy! Those jeans are cute.”
“Yes, they are,” Valerie comments. “You're wearing Lucky jeans? Wow, Gia, your new stepdaddy must be ballin' for real.”
I glare angrily at Candy. There is no way Elder LeRon bought her those two-hundred-dollar jeans. She looks back at me, her eyes pleading for me not to tell her secret.
I clear my throat. “If he's ballin', I sure can't tell. He must be giving all of the shopping money to his precious little baby.”
“Umm ... my mom bought them for me,” Candy says with a nervous giggle.
“Well, Gia, you need to pick up some fashion tips from your little sister,” Valerie says. “She's looking flawless right now, from head to toe.”
Candy smiles adoringly at Valerie. “Thank you, Val! I'm glad you like my outfit.”
“Don't get too thankful, boo. It's not a good look. We are Hi-Steppers and we're supposed to be fierce,” Valerie says.
I stand up and grab my gym bag. “I've got to go. Mother Cranford is waiting. And Candy, you need to get to the house. It's spaghetti night.”
Candy scrunches her nose. “Is that
all
your mother cooks?”
“Just be glad it isn't tuna surprise night.”
10
G
wen is sitting at the kitchen table doing a crossword puzzle in the newspaper. This is great, because it means she's in chill mode. I need her to be completely relaxed because I'm about to ask her about going to Cedar Point.
“Mom, I need to ask you something,” I say.
Gwen places her pencil on the table and pats one of the chairs. “Come on in here and sit down,” she says.
I sit at the table and take a sip out of Gwen's glass. She snatches her glass of juice away from me and sips it herself. For a second, it feels like old times when it was just me and Gwen. No husband, no pilfering stepsister. Just the two of us.
“What do you want to ask me?”
“Will you please listen to the entire request before you say anything?” I ask.
Gwen shakes her head. “Unh-uh! Nope. Whenever you say something like that, you're about to ask me something ridiculous.”
“Mom! Just hear me out.”
“Go ahead, Gia. But this better not be crazy.”
“Well, most of the junior class is going to Cedar Point over Labor Day weekend.”
Gwen twists her lips to the side and squints. “And? What else?” she asks.
“I'd like to go. Ricky said he would drive if we gave him gas money.”
“Okay, you can go,” Gwen says.
“Thanks, Mom, but that's not all.”
“There's more?”
“Well, yes. If we stay until the park closes, it will be too late for us to drive an hour and a half coming back home.”
Gwen crosses her arms like she knows what's coming. I continue. “So Brother Bryan, the youth choir director, has agreed to chaperone us if we get a few hotel rooms and stay the night. We'd be back for Sunday morning worship service.”
“Is that this coming weekend?” asks Gwen.
“No, it's next weekend.”
“Well, you-all sure have this all planned out, don't you?”
“Please, Mom! Please, can I go?” I beg.
“Can you go where?” Elder LeRon asks. He's walked into the house and right up into a conversation where he was not invited.
“Hi, honey!” says Gwen. “Some of the young people from the church are going to Cedar Point on Labor Day weekend.”
Elder LeRon frowns. “What young people?”
“Brother Bryan is taking a few car groups,” I reply. I do not appreciate this interrogation. Not one bit.
“Is Candy going?” he asks.
“Umm, no!”
Gwen asks, “Why can't Candy go?”
“Yes, why isn't your stepsister invited?”
I can't stop the groan that escapes my mouth. First of all, why is LeRon even a part of this conversation? I'm not asking him for his permission, I'm asking my mother for
her
permission.
“She's not invited because she's a freshman, and no freshmen are invited. This is an upperclassmen event,” I explain.
“That's silly,” Gwen says. “Candy's only a little bit younger than you. It'll be just as much fun with her there.”
Candy pokes her head out of our bedroom. “What are you all talking about? I heard my name,” she says.
“Did you hear about this trip to Cedar Point?” asks Elder LeRon.
Candy replies, “Yes, I heard about it, and I don't really want to go. It's gonna be a bunch of juniors. I'd rather go to the mall with my friends.”
Elder LeRon frowns. “If Candy isn't going, then Gia isn't going.”
“Mom! That's not fair!” I know I'm whining, but I can't help it.
“LeRon, I don't think Gia should miss out on the fun just because Candy isn't interested in going.”
“Are there going to be boys there?” asks Elder LeRon.
“Yes, there are. Ricky is going to drive,” answers Gwen.
“Do you honestly think we can trust Gia not to do something irresponsible?” Elder LeRon asks.
Gwen narrows her eyes angrily. “I trust Gia, LeRon.”
“Well, I don't, not after last year.”
“I believe that everyone deserves a second chance,” Gwen says.
“Okay, Gia. You're allowed to go to Cedar Point. But if you do anything to betray our trust, you won't see the outside of this house until you graduate from high school.”
Gwen gets up from the table and goes into the kitchen to heat up the spaghetti that she's cooked for dinner. LeRon and I stay in the living room, staring each other up and down.
It's so ironic that he thinks I'm some kind of promiscuous teen delinquent, and his daughter is the one with the sticky fingers. I'm sick of the staring contest so I get up from the table as well.
“Mom, I've got some homework. Can you call me when dinner is ready?”
I go into the bedroom that I share with Candy and slam the door. She's standing next to her desk, folding a stack of clothes that still have the tags on them.
“Been shopping?” I ask sarcastically.
Candy doesn't reply. She just smiles and puts her new clothes away.
“You might want to check that, Candy. I hear that kind of thing is addictive.”
Candy rolls her eyes. “Don't start in on me, Gia. You've got beef with my father, not me.”
“Well, maybe if he knew what you were doing, he wouldn't have time to harass me.”
“Are you going to snitch on me?” Candy asks.
“I'm considering it.”
“Stop tripping, Gia. Why don't you just make a shopping list and let me boost you a few things. It wouldn't be any trouble at all.”
Laughter bubbles up from my throat. “Girl, you aren't taking me down with you! No, ma'am!”
“I was only offering to be nice, Gia. My dad will never believe you if you tell him about this.”
I wave my hand over her stolen goods. “The evidence is right here. I don't have to convince him.”
“Do you actually think I haven't thought about getting caught? I'll just say that they belong to a friend or that my mom's new boyfriend bought them.”
That would be totally believable too, because Candy's mom feels guilty for shipping her off to LeRon's, so she buys gifts to make up for it. It kind of sucks for Candy.
I shake my head in disgust and plop down on my bed. Everything Candy said is true. Even if I did snitch on her, especially right now, it would just look like I'm trying to divert attention away from me.
There's a light knock on the door. That's nobody but Gwen. Candy stuffs all the rest of her booty (not like badonkadunk, but like pirate's
booty
) into the dresser drawer.
“Come in,” I say.
Gwen steps inside and closes the door lightly. She looks annoyed, as if she and LeRon continued their conversation about me after I left the room. I'm actually proud of my mother because she's doing her best to be a good wife and to take care of me at the same time.
“So, LeRon and I decided that we should go to Cedar Point as a family. You can hang with your friends, but we'll be there to chaperone.”
I let out a groan. Being a junior in high school and having your mama chaperone you is definitely not the business.
Gwen continues, “Miss Candy, you can forget about seeing your friends on Labor Day weekend. We're all going to go to Cedar Point.”
“Is there any way I can keep this disaster from happening?” I ask.
“Gia, it won't be that bad. Cedar Point is huge. You don't have to see us for the entire day if you don't want to.”
Why does she not understand the principle of the matter? This is all about LeRon trying to control me, and him proving to my mother that I can't be trusted.
Candy says, “It'll be cool, Gia. We can wear matching outfits.”
Take me, Lord. Take me now.
11
R
icky, Kevin, and I are sitting at our favorite table in the cafeteria, and we're discussing our project for English class. Kevin has a fresh haircut
and
a new outfit that is just a little bit fly. He's seriously trying to step up his game, and I ain't mad at him.
“So, what if we write the story about a damsel in distress who's rescued by a handsome guy and then they fall in love?” offers Ricky.
“Umm ... boring!” I reply. “How about we have a girl rescue a boy from his lame existence. Then he tries to get with her and she says ... no thanks!”
Kevin scrunches his nose. “That doesn't sound like a romance. That sounds like a story about a mean girl.”
I toss my hand into the air. “Okay, whatever! We can write a typical story if y'all want. I don't care. I've got bigger fish to fry.”
“Like what?” asks Ricky.
“Like Gwen and her little man LeRon crashing our Cedar Point trip.”
Ricky gasps. “What?”
“Yeah. Feel my pain, bro. They are definitely tripping.”
Kevin shrugs. “It's not that bad, Gia. It's not like we were going to do anything bad.”
“Yeah, but having them there is embarrassing.”
Kevin replies, “Well, it could be worse. It could be my grandparents.”
Ooh. Yeah, Kevin is right. I can see Mother Witherspoon now, handing us fried chicken sandwiches out of her purse with big hunks of pound cake in sandwich bags. That would be all sorts of bad.
“So, are you going to the rally girls' party after the game?” Ricky asks.
My eyes widen with surprise. “No! Are you going? What about IHOP?”
“Well, I don't have to go to IHOP. Plus, Hope invited me, so I'm thinking I'll go.”
Kevin asks, “Am I invited too?”
“If I am, then you are!” says Ricky. “That's how we roll.”
“Wait a minute! What about the Hi-Steppers? We always chill at IHOP after the game.”
Ricky laughs. “Gia, since when did you care what the rest of the Hi-Steppers are doing? Why don't you hang with us at the rally girls' bowling party?”
Aw, dang. I love bowling. I actually love bowling more than I love any of the Hi-Steppers or those extra fluffy pancakes at IHOP.
“Cosmic bowling?” I ask.
“Yep,” Ricky replies. “It's gonna be dark and the fluorescent lights are gonna be on! It should be fresh, for real.”
Something just occurred to meâa reason why Ricky might be upsetting the delicate balance of high school politics. He thinks he's slick, but he is sooo the opposite.
“Ricky, are you trying to avoid Valerie?” I ask.
He nearly chokes on a French fry. “Umm, no. Why would I be avoiding her?”
“Because you really liked her last year, and she played you like a dummy,” Kevin says.
Ricky protests, “She did not play me like a dummy. I knew what she was doing all along.”
Kevin and I both give Ricky a huge dose of dude-quit-playing side eye. If I recall correctly, Ricky's nose was so open you could drive a Hummer through it.
“All right, I dug her a little bit, but it wasn't all like how ya'll are talking,” Ricky says.
We still refuse to agree and let Ricky off the hook.
“Okay,” Ricky says. “I really liked her, and you're right, Gia. I don't want to go to IHOP if she's going to be there.”
“What if I told you that Valerie is really sorry for what she did, and that she might want to get back with you?”
Ricky looks like he's just seen a ghost. “Are you serious?”
“Would I lie about something like this?” I ask.
Ricky takes another French fry and pops it into his mouth. He chews slowly as if he's thinking. Honestly, I didn't expect too much pondering to take place on this Valerie scenario. She played him bad, so I didn't think she had a chance at all.
“I don't think she means it,” Ricky says. “Valerie only thinks about herself.”
I cannot and will not disagree with that statement. It's Valerie's fault for digging this hole. But at least I've kept my word. I mentioned it to Ricky; now she can do the rest.
Â
Since today is a game day, we have an afternoon pep rally. Everyone gets dressed in uniform and we all go into the auditorium for a lot of screaming, yelling, and cheering. Actually, it's pretty fun.
I march into the gym with all of the other Hi-Steppers, including Candy. We're doing a simple step around the floor to the beat of the music provided by the marching band.
The cheerleaders run into the gym after us. They are totally upstaging the Hi-Steppers with all of those cartwheels and whatnot. We need to step it up a notch, for real.
Okay, I'm almost one hundred percent sure I didn't say that out loud. But Candy must've been reading my mind, because this heifer just did about four backflips down the center of the floor. Everyone's cheering, especially the freshmen section.
The rally girls are next into the gymnasium. Since when do they have uniforms? They're wearing tiny red shorts and white baby tees that say
Spartans
across their chests. The cutest thing about their outfits are their little gladiator hats. They've also got tiny red pom-poms that they're waving all over the place.
Hope runs to the middle of the floor and starts a chant. “We're here to pep you up! We're here to pep you up! Because the Spartans are gonna wreck it up!”
All right now! My cousin has spirit, y'all. She's more pumped out there with the rally girls than she ever was as a Hi-Stepper. I think she's found her calling.
“What is
she
doing?” Valerie asks.
I cover my mouth to keep from giggling. Valerie is extra heated. She doesn't like anyone trying to steal her shine, and Hope is pretty much doing just that.
So Valerie starts the Hi-Steppers call, “Ooo-OOO!”
“Ooo-OOO!” the Hi-Steppers reply.
Valerie steps to the center of the floor and cups her hands around her mouth. She yells out to the crowd, “I said Ooo-OOO!”
A loud
Ooo-OOO
comes from the bleachers. Valerie signals to the rest of the Hi-Steppers to follow her to the middle of the floor. She leads us in a fresh, spur-of-the-moment step that blows the rally girls out of the water. They take their tiny pom-poms and go off to the side where they belong.
Valerie whispers to me as the football team enters, “This is
our
house! Hi-Steppers, chica!”
When Ricky runs into the gym, everyone stands. He smiles and waves. Hope starts up another chant with the rally girls.
“Ri-cky! Ri-cky!” they chant.
Ricky grins at the rally girls and waves at them. I glance at Valerie out of the corner of my eye, to see what her reaction is going to be. She narrows her eyes slowly and inhales deeply.
“Does your cousin like Ricky?” Valerie whispers.
“Who doesn't like Ricky? He's a really cool dude.”
“Don't try to play me, Gia. Are they talking? Is your cousin with Ricky?” Valerie asks. I can hear the nervousness in her tone. This is so unlike Valerie.
I answer truthfully. “They are not together, Valerie. Maybe Hope likes him, but he hasn't paid her any attention at all.”
Valerie smiles wickedly. “Well, if she thinks her little rally girl squad is going to help her take my boo, she can forget about it.”
Her boo! Ricky? Wow on top of wow.
“I don't think Ricky is even feeling you, Valerie, to be honest,” I say.
Valerie's smile spreads. “That is only temporary, trust me.”
At that very moment Valerie catches Ricky's attention, stands on her tiptoes and waves at him. And then he shocks the dummy out of me by waving back.
Wow to infinity.
After the pep rally, there's a mad rush to the locker room, so that we can change out of our uniforms before they get ruined for game night. Plus the cheerleaders will hog all of the space if we don't stake our claim first.
Most of the Hi-Steppers make it into the locker room in time to chat before our last-period class. Mine is Government, so trust and believe I'm in absolutely no hurry.
Kelani asks, “So, Val, are you driving us to Cedar Point?”
“I guess. I was hoping to ride along with my new boo, but that's definitely not happening,” Valerie replies while giving me the you-didn't-hook-me-up side eye. Whatever!
Candy says, “Oh, I think I'm riding with my dad. He and my stepmother are coming along.”
“Eww! Your
parents
are coming?” Jewel asks.
“Yeah. I guess they don't trust Gia to spend the night all the way in Sandusky,” Candy says.
Valerie gives me a strange look. “Gia, you're spending the night? Who else is in this little posse?”
“Some people from my church,” I reply vaguely.
“Ricky goes to your church,” Kelani says, stating the obvious.
I nod. “And a gold star goes to Kelani. Does anyone else want to try for the silver?”
Valerie crosses her eyes and squints angrily. “Spill it, Gia. You're spending the night in Sandusky with Ricky and who else?”
“Oh, for crying out loud! It's gonna be me, Ricky, Hope, Kevin, Candy, and some other people that y'all don't know from our church.”
“My man is spending the night in Sandusky and you didn't think I'd be interested in knowing that?” Valerie asks.
I'm going to need her to stop calling Ricky “her man.” It sounds kind of obsessive and stalker-like. She's reminding me of Nikki Parker chasing down Professor Ogilvie on
The Parkers
TV show.
“Well, you know now, Valerie. Are you coming with?”
Valerie smirks. “Yes, I suppose I will. Kelani and Jewel can ride with me.”
I grab up my stuff and make a mad dash for the hall. I am so not trying to be late to class.
I wonder how Ricky is going to handle both of his lady loves in one setting. Hope is thirsty and Valerie is extra thirsty. Maybe it would help if he
knew
they were his lady loves! But then again, it probably wouldn't.